Manus Island police say they are poised to charge several men with the murder of Reza Barati, the asylum seeker killed in a violent confrontation at the island's immigration detention centre.

Yet despite concerns about continuing tensions in the centre, at least some of the suspects in Mr Barati's death are believed to still be working at the facility, along with many other staff thought to have taken part in the violence.

Aftermath of the violent clashes at Manus Island detention centre

Pictures taken by detainees of one another showing the aftermath of the violent clashes at Manus Island detention centre on the night of Monday, March 17. Iranian Reza Barati was killed in the incident and dozens of other other asylum-seekers wounded. Photo: Supplied

The revelations came as further claims emerged about the violent clashes, including how desperate asylum seekers tried to tie bed sheets to the door handles in their rooms to keep their attackers out.

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In an account of the violence obtained by Fairfax Media, an Iranian asylum seeker said two detainees were blinded, one had his eye ''removed'' and one machete attack victim was ''cut so badly all around his neck like they meant to cut his head off''.

Manus Island provincial police commander Alex N'Drasal said on Thursday that he hoped soon to arrest three to four men and charge them with murder. ''Hopefully either this week or early next week, we are going to make arrests,'' he said. ''We are looking at three to four guys to be arrested and charged. We'll probably charge them with murder.''

He declined to say who the men were, including whether they were locals or foreigners, or whether they were local staff at the centre.

Mr N'Drasal said he believed most local staff were back at work, including security staff - a direct contradiction of statements made by Immigration Minister Scott Morrison. Asked whether this included the three to four suspects, Mr N'Drasal said he was not certain but added: ''I believe they are still there working.''

He said he had given instructions that none of the detention centre staff should leave Manus Island while the police investigation was running and therefore it was proper that they should continue working.

Illustration: Ron Tandberg.

Mr Morrison said through his spokeswoman: ''I am advised there are no locally engaged staff deployed as security officers within any of the compounds.''

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said letting workers who were involved in the violence back into the centre was a ''recipe for disaster''.

A recording of the Iranian detainee's statement - made on Tuesday - along with an English translation, described disturbing new details about the incident. The material was provided to Fairfax Media by Senator Hanson-Young and by a second, independent source.

The detainee said other detainees saw the alleged killer ''a few days ago behind the external fence making gestures that we will cut your throat and kill you''.

He said machetes and guns had been used in the clashes and that ''people were attacked in their beds and their heads were cut open'', leaving ''blood on closets, pillows and walls''.

He told of one detainee who was being carried to safety by an Australian guard when he was hit on the head with a wooden pole by a PNG guard.

''As he lifted his head up to look, the PNG guard recognised him as a friend who had been giving him his cigarettes every day. He was shocked and said, 'Sorry, sorry, my friend.' This story has become one of the jokes currently in the camp - 'Sorry, sorry, my friend'.''

Senator Hanson-Young said: ''It's clear from seeing this conversation that [inside the camp] the refugees' safety simply cannot be guaranteed.''

She said the only ''decent and humane'' thing to do was to bring the detainees to Australia.

192 comments

What a mess.

Commenter

Fairminded

Location

Sydney

Date and time

March 14, 2014, 4:22AM

Yes!! "What a mess". None of this would have happened if Kevin Rudd, in his deluded wisdom, hadn't dismantled John Howards Pacific Solution. If there is going to be any blame, blame it on Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard.

Commenter

Muphin

Location

Tewantin

Date and time

March 14, 2014, 5:09AM

Why does there need to be someone to blame? Yes there is a massive problem here but shouldn't we be looking for solutions rather than someone to blame? That childish mentality of blame and finger pointing is what got us into this mess in the first place. Its time that we all took the politics out of the situation and started behaving like mature, responsible adults and treating these people the care and respect they deserve. The system is broken, lets look at alternatives and what else we can do to solve asylum seeker issue. I for one am very tired of the hysterical rhetoric surrounding this issue. Stop blaming people and start finding humane, rational solutions.

Commenter

Concerned mother of one

Date and time

March 14, 2014, 5:30AM

Does Sarah Hanson-Young ever do any work for the Australian people?

I'd like to see and hear less of her bleating on behalf of people smugglers interests and more of her helping the destitute and homeless in her own country.

As a member of the "Greens" what has she done for the environment lately apart from sell it out for a socialist manifesto.

Commenter

This chicken is rubbery

Location

Gradurikeit

Date and time

March 14, 2014, 6:18AM

I feel totally disgusted with not only the Abbott government but also my fellow Australians who exhibit such lack of compassion, such hatred for these poor people trying to escape the violence of their beloved homelands. They risk their lives, get into Australia's control and they are subjected to just as much violence and danger here. What a hard-hearted, nasty race of people we have become - an international humiliating embarrassment. The Vietnamese boat people faced racism, sure, but it was nothing like this, the most base human instincts whipped up for political gain.

Commenter

Jonel

Location

Adelaide

Date and time

March 14, 2014, 7:04AM

"You started it!""No, you started it!"

Apparently the level of discourse on this subject is on par with primary school children.

Blame whoever you want, but it doesn't change the fact that Australia as a whole, including both political parties who have proposed and vetoed various different strategies, is responsible for this mess. A responsible adult would stop whining and start contributing.

We're signatories to the UN convention regarding refugees and asylum seekers. We have various responsibilities as a signatory, and we're not meeting those responsibilities.

Not only that, we employ murderous thugs to run a prison camp. Shame, shame, shame, especially on those who treat it like a schoolyard blame game.

Commenter

Suido

Date and time

March 14, 2014, 7:12AM

Rubbery chicken The portfolios of Sarah Hanson Young in the Greens include human rights and immigration and citizenship. Your comments are unfounded. she works tirelessly in her role. The Greens have an environmental spokesperson holding that portfolio so would not be correct that SHY speaks on these areas, the same as any party has Ministers holding portfolios they do not speak on behalf of other areas. Would you say the same if the Labor shadow Immigration Minister spoke out, would you expect them to discuss the environment as well.

Commenter

Jenharl

Date and time

March 14, 2014, 7:15AM

Geez, @Muphin. Don't trip over yourself in the rush to blame Labor.

If you want to take it to the extreme we could also blame Howard for supporting wars that lead to refugees.

The one thing we obviously cannot do is blame the current government for failures that occur on their watch. I just figured out what that whole "no excuses" thing was before the election. It actually means "no responsibility".

Commenter

andye

Location

sydney

Date and time

March 14, 2014, 7:34AM

Andye, firstly we did not go into Iran. Secondly the decision to go to war was bi-partisan. Both sides are to blame.

Commenter

Shaking Eagle

Date and time

March 14, 2014, 8:06AM

@Muphin - I actually like to blame people such as yourself for not accepting merely 50,000 aslyum over the course of 5 years and forming a what supposedly non-issues into real big issues.

Also because of these non-issues, now we are wasting money, emotions and time.

13 Mar
He was branded a convicted Egyptian jihadist terrorist and the fact that he was housed in a low-security facility for asylum seekers behind a pool fence was described as a "grave breach" of national security by the Coalition before last year's election.

14 Mar
This is an edited version of a recent interview conducted by phone between a Farsi-speaker in Australia and an Iranian asylum seeker in the Manus Island detention camp. Both the original recording and an English transcript were provided to Fairfax Media by two independent sources.

14 Mar
Pictures taken by detainees of one another showing the aftermath of the violent clashes at Manus Island detention centre on the night of Monday, March 17. Iranian Reza Barati was killed in the incident and dozens of other other asylum-seekers wounded.

15 Mar
Witness accounts from inside Australia's detention centres are rare. Walled in behind government secrecy, contracts which bind them to silence, and fear for their future livelihoods, staff and former employees of the organisations running the centres bite their tongues, or confide only in close colleagues, family members or friends.